Letting out a slow, and heavy breath, Alnea opened his eyes, just as a smile broke onto his face. Not on his own initiative, but more as an instinctive reaction to the happiness rippling within his Heart. A happiness, that even the Serenity of his Heart was not able keep in check. He did not run from that happiness though. Neither did he try to suppress it. On the contrary, he accepted the happiness with open arms, letting his Serenity embrace it in its full glory.
Expressing happiness, or even emotions in general was something that came naturally to humans. Though Wanderers had to keep their emotions in check, it did not mean that they to completely supress them. Even Yuri, with her Clear Heart, and his master, with her Infinite Heart, often expressed their emotions on their faces. As long as they did not let their emotions control them, they would not be in any danger of their Aspects backlashing against them. Besides, if people did not have emotions, could they even be called as people?
No, it was not right of him to assume things, Alnea thought. Maybe, there really were people who could live without emotions. He was not one of those people though, and neither were the people around him. Like Cecilia, sitting in front of him, with her Spirit Wandering the Origin Sea. She was quite expressive of her emotions. There was a time when she had tried keeping things to herself, but even then, she had never been able to hide her emotions.
Yuri, on the other hand, was much better at hiding her emotions. Especially with her mesmerising smile often distracting people from her true thoughts. But even she had times when she expressed her emotions. Just as there were times when his master expressed her emotions. The smile on her face, though not as enchanting as Yuri’s smile, was the most radiant, and the warmest smile he had ever seen.
And it was not just about smiling. He had seen tears in both, his master’s, and Yuri’s eyes. He had even seen Cecilia cry. And though he had not seen big sis Serena’s tears, he had seen her express her anger, and frustration. Though they were all Wanderers, all of them had their own emotions. And maybe, it was because of the connection between their emotions, and his, that they, along with his mother, were a part of his Heart. As for the people who were not a part of his Heart, what did they have to do with him?
On the matter of secrets that Yuri kept from him, he had never seen her practice her Martial Styles either. Or her Arcanas, especially the one that supposedly killed nearly ten Oren Beasts at the same time in the first canyon that she had trained in. He could understand why she would refrain from using the latter unless it was necessary, but how was she training her Martial Styles? And if she was not training her Martial Styles, then would that not be a waste?
Nodding to himself, while reaffirming his Heart, Alnea pushed himself off the ground, as he lit up the cave with his Aspect. Not the brightest one, of course, but one bright enough to light up just the cave, and green robed girl sitting in front of him. She was still Wandering the Origin Sea though, so he did not disturb her. Picking up his sword, he walked out from the cave, withdrawing his Aspect back to its Aspect Wells.
Though the canyon was dark, it was not as dark as the cave. He could still see a few things in the area around the cave. Like Yuri, sitting in the distance, staring into the depths of the canyon. Or her white hair, which seemed to absorb all the light around her. He still did not know how that worked. And every time he asked Yuri about it, she would just brush it away with a smile, terming it as a girl’s secret.
On the matter of secrets that Yuri kept from him, he had never seen her practice her Martial Styles either. Or her Arcanas, especially the one that supposedly killed nearly ten Oren Beasts at the same time in the first canyon that she had trained in. He could understand why she would refrain from using the latter unless it was necessary, but how was she training her Martial Styles? And if she was not training her Martial Styles, then would that not be a waste?
After all, even though Alnea practically gained a new Aspect every week, Yuri had been Wandering for over half a year. She had even reached the Intermediate Stage of the False Rank. She clearly had more Aspects than him. Yet he had never seen her use her Aspects, either in practise, or in battles. Except the one time he saw her condense a sword from just her Aspects. Still, Alnea was not in a hurry.
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Fast, and hectic, their recent days might have been, but they had just started with their training. They still had months, and quite possibly, even a year left to train in the canyons. And the longer that they stayed in the canyon, the stronger they would become, leading them to always seek stronger enemies. If the endless cycle was to continue though, then in time, a day was bound to come when Yuri would have to use her Aspects, and fight like a Warrior. Or even an Arcanist. He would be able to see her dreaded Arcanas then.
Before such a day came though, he had to become strong enough to force Yuri to participate in a battle as not just a Scholar, but also as a Warrior, and an Arcanist. Thus, after briefly greeting Yuri, and telling her about his newly acquired Mystery, Alnea started training his sword, and Martial Styles. More specifically, to use his sword while transitioning in between different kinds of Martial Styles.
It was not an easy task, and required a constant use of his Spirit Power, but as long as he kept the use of his Aspects themselves to a minimum, using just enough Oren to excite the Aspects to a level where he could practise with them, then he could persist for quite a long while. At least until Cecilia came out, and joined him in guarding the cave, while Yuri went into the cave to for her own Wandering.
By then, Alnea had finally run out of his Spirit Power. So, after telling Yuri to be careful in her Wanderings, while wishing her the best, he started training the basic moves of his sword, a slash, and a stab. Though they were the most basic, of the basic moves, with just a little variation to them, those two moves could produce countless other moves. And that was not even considering the intent behind the moves.
According to what his master had taught him, depending on the intention behind the attacks, sword moves could be divided into three categories, offensive moves, defensive moves, and supportive moves. A parry, with an intent to just block, was completely different from a parry made with an intent to counterattack, and both the moves had to be followed by different kind of moves.
Alnea himself, however, was just a beginning in the way of sword. He was just beginning to learn how to wield swords. Wielding a sword… A few days ago, he had entered a special state during his training. He had never been able to enter that state again, but while he had been in the state, he had learned some interesting things about swords. Specifically, how a sword should be wielded.
A Wanderer should weild his sword like he was singing a song, with a beginning, and an end. And not just any song, but a song with a purpose, with a meaning, that each of his slashes, and stabs should also carry forward. If he was performing a parry, then the sword must know why he had parried at that moment. And if he stabbed, then the sword must know why it was stabbing, or who it was stabbing.
Yet, just having a meaning was not enough. A sword must also have its own rhythm, and so must each of his swings. Only if the rhythm, and the meaning were in perfect harmony, matching with the rhythm, and the meaning of the song, would a perfect song be created. And only then, would a Wanderer be said to have gained mastery in his art of swords.
Art of swords… what a strange, and familiar term, Alnea thought, moving along with the song of his sword. It was an uncertain song, still seeking its meaning, with all its rhythm scattered around in a mess, but he was not embarrassed about it. On the contrary, the more mistakes he made, the more he was able to learn about himself. Besides, his master had said that making mistakes was not bad, not learning from those mistakes was.
Thus, whenever Alnea felt his sword miss a beat, he would stop, think over his moves for a few moments, trying them from different angles, positions, and even with different intentions, until he felt satisfied with them, before moving on to the next moves. Similarly, whenever he felt that something was missing from his moves, he would stop as well, thinking about their purpose, and meaning, fine turning them according to song of his sword.
After all, wielding a sword was like singing a song. Even if it was an uncertain, and poorly composed song, he still had to sing it if he wished to wield his sword. Otherwise, what would be the difference between him, and some ignorant Wanderer swinging a sword around just for fun?
No, Alnea Oathkeeper was not swinging his sword just for fun. He was swinging his sword to protect. To guard. To annihilate all his enemies. And to live with the people he loved. That was his song. Love, and the strength to protect that love. That was his way of the sword.